How to help an alcoholic

How to help an alcoholic

If you have a family member, friend or loved one that is suffering from alcoholism, you may be wondering what you can do to help. The question of how to help an alcoholic is not a simple one, as really only the alcoholic can help themselves. However there are some helpful suggestions that may help you in encouraging them to get help for their alcoholic condition sooner rather than later.

Important Considerations

The first thing to remember is that unless the individual is sectioned under the mental health act, you cannot force them to do anything. But how you approach the situation and the information that you provide can have an impact that helps the alcoholic to seek professional assistance.

Understanding an alcoholic

Alcoholics suffer from deluded thinking; often they cannot see the truth or the reality of their own situation. To them, what they are doing may seem acceptable or normal. Even if a loved one pleads tearfully with them to stop, or they receive a health warning from a doctor, they can still actually think they are in control of their drinking, even though to others around them they are anything but.

How to help

If you are a friend or loved one trying to help an alcoholic, it is important that you arm yourself with as much information on their illness as possible. Alcohol Helper has some useful literature and advice on how to approach the conversation of Alcohol treatment. Emotions understandably run high when you are watching someone you care about destroy themselves through drinking. Sometimes it is best to take a step back and allow a professional, experienced in treating alcoholism, in to help. If you are trying to help an alcoholic, you may be feeling frustrated and at a loss as to what to do. These feelings of helplessness are common. Alcoholics suffer from an illness that is beyond their mental control and sometimes no amount of reasoning or pleading will spur them in to getting the help they so desperately need. If you really want to help an alcoholic, it is important that you do not enable their alcoholism. Allowing them to carry on as they are, they may never see the truth of their desperate situation. Alcoholics only usually seek help once their condition becomes mentally and emotionally unbearable, that means feeling the consequences of their actions, so that they realise for themselves that there is no pleasure any more in carrying on as they are.

We can help

If you need more addiction advice on how to help an alcoholic, Alcohol Helper can advise you on the best way forward. Successful treatment is available and we are only too happy to discuss the options with you, and if necessary intervene with a professional intervention.

Addiction Helper Will help you find the best treament for you or a loved one with just one telephone call. Our staff are here 24hrs a day and offer advice on both NHS and private treatment options. our addiction helpline is free to call and all calls are confidential.

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